Sound conducting apparatus for drive-in theaters

ABSTRACT

An improvement in a sound conducting apparatus for a drive-in movie theater consisting of a sound conducting member extensibly projecting from a sound reproducing device at a fixed station for engagement with the body of a vehicle, means resiliently yieldingly holding said apparatus in operating position and maintaining said sound conducting member in constant engagement with the outer body of said vehicle whereby the passenger compartment of said vehicle is made to become a sound chamber.

States Patent Duling et a1.

[4 1 Dec. 10, 1974 SOUND CONDUCTING APPARATUS For. DRIVE-IN THEATERS Inventors: Kevin G. Duling; Craig W. Maser, both of Lincoln, Nebr.

Assignee: Arthur M. Gunderson, St. Cloud,

Minn.

Filed: Jan. 26, 1973 Appl. No.: 326,871

US. Cl. 179/1 DD, 179/1 VE, 179/181 R Int. Cl. H04r 7/04, H04r 23/00 Field of Search 179/1 DD, 1 VB, 1 E, 2 D, 179/181 R, 181 W, 113; 181/31 R References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1925 Forest l 179/181 R 4/1964 Herzfeld 179/1 DD 3/1967 Cain 179/181 W 8/1970 Thurston 179/181 W 3,557,324 l/l971 Nakamatsu 179/1 E 3,596,018 7/1971 Elmes 179/1 DD Primary Examiner-Kathleen H. Claffy Assistant Examiner-Douglas W. Olms Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Leo Gregory [5 7] ABSTRACT taining said sound conducting member in constant engagement with theouter. body of said vehicle whereby the passenger compartment of said vehicle is'made to become a sound chamber.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention herein relates to an improvement in a conducting apparatus for a drive-in movie theater.

In general use are speaking devices mounted on fixed posts as by an extensible cord whereby the speaker is brought through the open window of a vehicle and hung within the passenger compartment thereof.

Speaking devices such as are in general use are relatively expensive and are subject to considerable maintenance and replacement due to damage resulting from failure to remove a speaking device from a vehicle upon movement of the vehicle or from careless dropping of the speaking device out of the vehicle and there is considerable loss due to theft.

One of the disadvantages in the presently generally used speaking devices is that the driver is required to remove the speaking device from his vehicle and to return it in a given manner as on a hanger to avoid damage.

It is desirable to have an apparatus to bring sound into a vehicle and to have such an apparatus as does not require the operator to remove the apparatus from the vehicle or even return the apparatus to a given place when the vehicle leaves the theater. It is also desirable to have an apparatus which is relatively inexpensive, which will require minimum maintenance and which provides very satisfactory sound reproduction.

It is an object of this invention therefore to provide a sound conductingv apparatus for a drive-in theater which requires only engagement of the apparatus with the outer body of a vehicle.

It is another object of this invention to provide a sound conducting apparatus for a drive-in theater .which'may be engaged by the body of a vehicle for transmission of sound therethrough and hence is not required to be within the vehicle and from which the vehicle may be driven away without any handling of the apparatus by the operator of the vehicle.

Further with respect to the above object it is also an object of the invention herein to make theinterior of the vehicle into a sound chamber for sound transmitted through the vehicle body.

More generally it is an object of this invention to provide a sound conducting apparatus for a drive-in theater including a supporting structure such as a post arrangement and said apparatus comprising a sound reproducing member carried by said supporting structure and a sound conducting member extensible from said sound reproducing member and means with respect to said supporting structure resiliently holding said apparatus, the same being subject to deflection by contact with the body of a vehicle and said means maintaining constant contact of said sound conducting member with said vehicle body.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a broken view in top plan showing the apparatus herein in an operating position and by dotted line in an alternate position;

FIG. 2 is a broken view on an enlarged scale showing a portion of the apparatus herein in front elevation; and

FIG. 3 is a broken view in vertical section taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2 as indicated.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference is made to the drawings in which a sound conducting apparatus is shown including a supporting structure 12 which in the embodiment of the invention herein illustrated includes a tubular post 14 which is indicated as being suitably secured in the ground as by being imbedded into a concrete base 15.

A sleeve clamp 16 is shown secured to said post as by bolts 17 and said sleeve clamp has an am 18 extending outwardly thereof here shown having a well or recess 20 therein adjacent its free end receiving therein the lower end portion of a relatively short upstanding post 22 which is secured into said well as by an end bolt 23.

Seated upon said post is a yoke member 25 having a depending collar 26 centrally thereof which is journaled upon the upper end portion of said post 22 and is rotatably secured thereon as by a shoulder bolt 29. A torsion spring 30 is disposed about said post being secured at one end thereof thereto by a bolt 31 and being secured at its upper end to said collar 26 by a bolt 32. Said torsion spring is positioned and adapted to normally yieldingly hold said yoke in a forwardly facing direction. It will be noted that said torsion spring 30 is disposed resiliently to yield to movement about the axis of said post 22.

Carried by said yoke is a sound reproducing and conducting device 34. Said device 34 comprises a sound reproducing member or transducer 35 of which various suitable types are commonly available such as are arranged and constructed to vibrate their outer housings or forwardly facing portions such as the face portion 36.

Said transducer 35 is equipped with a pair of diametrically opposed outwardly extending cylindrical ears 38 and 39 which are journaled into a pair of diametrically opposed apertures 40 and 41 extending through the arms 25a and 25b of said yoke as indicated in FIG. 2.

Torsion springs 43 and 45 are respectively disposed about said ears with each having an end portion engaging adjacent yoke portions 25a and 25b as stop members as illustrated in F162 and having respectively their other end portions secured as by screws 47 to the housing of said transducer 35. Said torsion springs 43 and 45 are arranged to hold said transducer in a vertically disposed forwardly facing position and to resiliently yield to a generally upward or downward deflection of said transducer.

Lead lines are shown extending from said transducer and these will run to and be connected to be in circuit with the sound equipment of the movie screen display system.

Adapted to conduct sound from said transducer 35 is a sound conducting member 62 which member represents an essential element of novelty herein and which is shown in the present embodiment as being a telescopic tubular member or wand which may be suitably formed of either metal or appropriate plastic material. Both metal and plastic materials have proved to have excellent sound conducting characteristics. Said wand 62 is shown having a rounded terminal portion 63.

Said wand 62 may be suitably secured to said transducer as by being received into a central boss 37 of said transducer as to be threaded therein or secured by welding.

OPERATION Said sound conducting member 62 will be normally positioned as indicated in dotted line in FIG. I.

Said supporting structure 12 may have a device such as said device 34 extending from a pair of opposite sides thereof and a plurality of said structures will be arranged to accommodate vehicles within a theater area.

Normally said wand 62 will extend directly outwardly to permit a vehicle A to be driven up to it for direct engagement with it or to have the vehicle operator reach out his arm and grasp the end section of said wand 62 and extend it for angular engagement with the outer body of the vehicle as illustrated in solid line in FIG. 1. Movement of the wand 62 away from its normal position in either a generally horizontal or vertical direction will place stress upon the torsion springs 30 and 43, 45 which in resiliently yielding will cause said wand 62 to have constant engagement with the body of the vehicle even though said body may be subject to movement such as may be caused by the movement of the persons within the vehicle. Thus said body of said vehicle upon being engaged by said sound conducting wand 62 is made into a conducting member whereby the passenger compartment of the vehicle is made to become a sound chamber for the audio portion of the material shown on the movie screen.

Here there is avoided the need for bringing into the passenger compartment of the vehicle any portion of the sound conducting apparatus. For an excellent quality of sound within the passenger compartment of the vehicle all that is required is the engagement of the body of the vehicle by said. sound conducting wand 62.

To have uninterrupted sound it is essential that there through the use of said torsion springs 30 and 43, 45.

When the vehicle is ready to leave the theater, it need merely be driven away from said wand 62 or if the operator of the vehicle desires he may reach out and retract the extended portion of the wand 62 or this may be done by the operator of the theater.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of the invention herein which, generally stated, consists in an apparatus capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sound reproducing apparatus for a drive-in theater embodying the use of an automotive vehicle body as a diaphragm, having in combination a sonic transducer, means yieldably supporting said transducer remote from and independent of an automotive vehicle body, i an elongated adjustably extensible rod extending from said transducer engaging said automotive vehicle body,

said yieldable supporting means when deflected by said vehicle body resiliently urging said rod against said vehicle body, and

said rod transmitting vibrations from said transducer to said vehicle body producing sound.

2. The structure set forth 'in .claim 1, wherein said supporting means comprises a supporthaving vertical and horizontal axial support members, and

torsion means respectively carried by'said axial support members normally disposing said transducer in a plane operatively facing said automotive .vehicle body. 

1. A sound reproducing apparatus for a drive-in theater embodying the use of an automotive vehicle body as a diaphragm, having in combination a sonic transducer, means yieldably supporting said transducer remote from and independent of an automotive vehicle body, an elongated adjustably extensible rod extending from said transducer engaging said automotive vehicle body, said yieldable supporting means when deflected by said vehicle body resiliently urging said rod against said vehicle body, and said rod transmitting vibrations from said transducer to said vehicle body producing sound.
 2. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein said supporting means comprises a support having vertical and horizontal axial support members, and torsion means respectively carried by said axial support members normally disposing said transducer in a plane operatively facing said automotive vehicle body. 